They're being paid off, with silence a condition of the agreement. Seems like the smart thing to do would be to start a new fork and wait for the lawyer and suspiciously well-muscled paralegal with the inexplicable tire iron to arrive on your doorstep. Then take the money. Don't negotiate, just take the money.
Popcorn Time Devs Drop Like Flies But No One Will Talk
31–40 of 104 posts
Re: Popcorn Time Devs Drop Like Flies But No One Will Talk
#32Replace Popcorn Time with any kind of politically undesirable activity, and it sounds exactly like so many stories from so many totalitarian regimes.
Is 'politically undesirable' the new PC phrase for 'illegal'?
More like a synonym for "rocking the boat." There are legal things that fit the category, as well as illegal things that are not politically agitating (like speeding on a freeway or getting into a fistfight).
Re: Popcorn Time Devs Drop Like Flies But No One Will Talk
#33Replace Popcorn Time with any kind of politically undesirable activity, and it sounds exactly like so many stories from so many totalitarian regimes.
Is 'politically undesirable' the new PC phrase for 'illegal'?
No, but "Illegal" is the longstanding newspeak term for "politically undesirable".
Re: Popcorn Time Devs Drop Like Flies But No One Will Talk
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is writing Popcorn Time itself actually illegal?
Circumventing a rights control measure is illegal and there are probably lawyers who would want to make that case to test it in court.
1) The software that is included in popcorntime isn't circumventing any rights control measure - the bittorrents that it accesses don't include any rights control measures that would need to be circumvented. The people who originally supplied and seeded those may (or may not) have used some software that circumvents rights control measures, but that's not included in Popcorntime.
2) Circumventing rights control measures is legal in my country and most countries globally. Copyright laws as agreed in Berne conventions and implemented in local legislation simply don't mention such measures and their circumvention in any way, they handle just the copyright part.
USA has a single very specific law - DMCA - that restricts such circumvention; it has been trying to "export" that concept to other countries through trade treaties; but it hasn't succeeded for the most part; making and distributing such tools is legal almost everywhere - and the legality of using them depends on the legality of actual act you're doing; if you're allowed to make that copy (i.e., personal backups) the the use is legal; if you're not (i.e., for redistribution), then the copying is illegal but the 'rights control measure' doesn't change anything at all and its circumvention is irrelevant.
Re: Popcorn Time Devs Drop Like Flies But No One Will Talk
#35Popcorn Time is _this_ close to being the Napster of Film, Hollywood must be literally shitting bricks. Someone has probably taken it upon himself to threaten these devs in a nasty (and perhaps illegal) way. Surely the story will come out eventually. In the meantime, Popcorn Time is fully available to download. So I'm not sure what genie they're putting back in the bottle....
> Popcorn Time is _this_ close to being the Napster of Film No it's not. The elephant in the room that no wants to talk about is that Popcorn Time doesn't work on a television. Television is where people watch movies. Back in the late 90s when Napster was a real mainstream thing, people didn't just listen to the music on their computers, they burnt them to CDs and took them to their cars, to parties, etc.
This is becoming less and less important. My TV is just a display for a Mac Mini, for example. If I had an AppleTV, I could just mirror the content straight to that. Before all this useful extravagance, I just hooked my computer up to my TV using (gasp) a cable. Worked great, and me and most other people I know, especially those younger than me, are fully used to making this work.
Even then, my girlfriend could not care less about even having a TV. She watches everything on her computer and is perfectly happy.
Re: Popcorn Time Devs Drop Like Flies But No One Will Talk
#36Popcorn Time is _this_ close to being the Napster of Film, Hollywood must be literally shitting bricks. Someone has probably taken it upon himself to threaten these devs in a nasty (and perhaps illegal) way. Surely the story will come out eventually. In the meantime, Popcorn Time is fully available to download. So I'm not sure what genie they're putting back in the bottle....
> Popcorn Time is _this_ close to being the Napster of Film No it's not. The elephant in the room that no wants to talk about is that Popcorn Time doesn't work on a television. Television is where people watch movies. Back in the late 90s when Napster was a real mainstream thing, people didn't just listen to the music on their computers, they burnt them to CDs and took them to their cars, to parties, etc.
But what is "television"? Isn't it just device, or system where the barrier of entry to access entertainment is sufficiently low for the majority of the population? And if so popcorn time is a giant leap in lowering this barrier of entry on desktops and laptops.
And since in a lot of countries pirated movies are often way quicker than regular distribution, this can really swing people towards PC based "television" or media consumption vs old-time television.
Re: Popcorn Time Devs Drop Like Flies But No One Will Talk
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Popcorn Time is _this_ close to being the Napster of Film No it's not. The elephant in the room that no wants to talk about is that Popcorn Time doesn't work on a television. Television is where people watch movies. Back in the late 90s when Napster was a real mainstream thing, people didn't just listen to the music on their computers, they burnt them to CDs and took them to their cars, to parties, etc.
If I were a Hollywood exec right now I would be sweating bullets. Steam boxes will be hitting the shelves in the next couple of years and then there will be no stopping hackers from bringing the elegance of Popcorn Time to the comfort of the living room.
If not this, then there will be something else.
It won't be long before any digital content is simply available. It will eventually equilibrate into its natural state: a public good, non-rival and non-exclusive in consumption.
Eventually, we'll pay for our bandwidth and content in one utility package, track usage in a legal and unlimited way, and divvy proceeds of our utility subscription to content creators based on popularity. A systematic solution is necessary, and the faster we're able to do it, the better.
Re: Popcorn Time Devs Drop Like Flies But No One Will Talk
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Popcorn Time is _this_ close to being the Napster of Film No it's not. The elephant in the room that no wants to talk about is that Popcorn Time doesn't work on a television. Television is where people watch movies. Back in the late 90s when Napster was a real mainstream thing, people didn't just listen to the music on their computers, they burnt them to CDs and took them to their cars, to parties, etc.
If I were a Hollywood exec right now I would be sweating bullets. Steam boxes will be hitting the shelves in the next couple of years and then there will be no stopping hackers from bringing the elegance of Popcorn Time to the comfort of the living room.
Pretty sure I could buy a device today that streams wirelessly from my computer to the TV in the living room.
Re: Popcorn Time Devs Drop Like Flies But No One Will Talk
#39It's bizarre to me that something awful is apparently being threatened against the developers, and yet new forks are not banned from github.
Re: Popcorn Time Devs Drop Like Flies But No One Will Talk
#40Popcorn Time is _this_ close to being the Napster of Film, Hollywood must be literally shitting bricks. Someone has probably taken it upon himself to threaten these devs in a nasty (and perhaps illegal) way. Surely the story will come out eventually. In the meantime, Popcorn Time is fully available to download. So I'm not sure what genie they're putting back in the bottle....
> Someone has probably taken it upon himself to threaten these devs in a nasty (and perhaps illegal) way.
Someone, you say? How about just stating the fucking obvious: That "someone" is The US Government, and this is just standard gag-order fare. "Stop developing the app, or we will fuck up your life. Oh, and don't say a word about this to anyone, or we'll fuck up your life."
This insanity is obviously unconstitutional (for starters), but since the USG obviously doesn't give a fuck anyway, what with the all-encompassing surveillance and all, this has become just business as usual.
Relevant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=qp...